Addy has been following The Man and Lucy for miles, and each time, The Man keeps getting the best of her. But thankfully, he dropped his guard enough to allow himself to be shot.
Now, they're in a clothing store with Lucy, and the little shit—the princess is throwing a tantrum. She wants to see her mother, but Addy explains that can't happen. It's not long after that that The Man shows up. "Run, Lucy," Addy shouts. The blonde-haired girl runs to the back and out the backdoor. Addy throws a Clothing wrack down in front of the man, but he steps over it. She yells at him, "Stay back."
"How aren't you dead yet? I might've misjudged your strength, Addison Carver," the Man admits. She looks around as she backs up. Addy limps. She finds that she's right next to the cashier's station. He spots a back scratcher lying on the counter. Grabbing it, she whips her head to look at him.
He walks up, and she smacks him on the head with it before attempting to stab him in the chest. He grabs her hand and twists her wrist. She groans out in pain as she drops her weapon. The Man then kicks her in the stomach, sending her flying backward into a clothing wrack. "I don't have time for this," he says, fixing his vest and brushing off his arm. She grunts, getting up, as she struggles to sit up fully. He's hurt her enough to make her entire body hurt.
He rolls his eyes and goes to walk out the back door, but he just made a mistake. He turned his back on the red mince named Addy. She leaps up from the floor and onto his back. The man lets out a yelp as she attempts to strangle him with a small piece of rope she took off of a shirt. He slips his fingers under the rope and pulls with all the strength he has right now. It's enough where it's not going to cut off his airway, but not enough to get it off. 'She's strong,' he thinks. The Man swings them around. Addy gets one of her legs smacked into another clothing wrack before she can fully wrap it around his waist. The Man doesn't give up. He walks backward into a clothing wrack, and Addy lets out a yelp. The metal from one of the rods goes right into her back, brushing her spine. This loosens her grip on the rope for only a second. The Man isn't quick enough to yank it off. So he resorts to flipping her over his shoulder and tossing her to the ground. This tightens the rope around his neck for a split second before he's free.
Addy, let's put a grunt as the air gets knocked out of her lungs. The Man yanks away the loose rope and tosses it off somewhere behind him. He looks down at her, struggling to breathe. He squats down above her head and looks down into her panicking eyes. "You know if things didn't end up like this and I didn't have a mission to complete. I would've offered you a position at Zona." He shakes his head. "Too bad you're gonna die now."
"The only one dying here is you," Addy squeaks out before grabbing his head and kicking it with his left foot. He falls back, holding his head. She snaps her body around and goes to kick him again. He catches her foot and pieces it back. She stabs him with a mini pocket knife from her boot before lifting up the other foot and kicking him in the face. She gets her foot back but stumbles and falls.
The Man holds his clearly broken nose. He looks up and glares at her, but he's not angry. She looks at him before trying to run. He grabs her foot, and she falls on her face before getting yanked back. "Let go, your crazy bastard," she yells and kicks at him as he drags her away from the front door. Her hands drag across the dirty carpet floor, getting the rug burned on them. She hisses.
When he stops dragging her, she kicks at his hand. He brings down his leg on her hip, causing her to shout out in pain. "Stop fighting," he says. "Never," she says, sucking in a painful breath. She tries to kick him again, but it's too painful. She lets out a cry of pain. The Man finds a wall and sinks down on it to the floor. They both lay there panting and in pain. "What do you want with her?" Addy asks, trying to find it in her to move.
There's a pause.
"She's Alvin Murphy's biological daughter, and we believe that she's the cure to end this apocalypse," The Man answers. He's covering his nose. He takes the broken thing between his hands and shuts his eyes tightly. He pops it back into place. He lets out a grunt of pain before a long sigh. "Take him," Addy says. "But not her. She didn't do anything wrong. You can take Murphy. No one likes him anyway."
"I thought you and your group, led by Lieutenant Roberta Warren, were keeping him safe?" The Man asks. Addy lets out a tired chuckle. "No way in hell. That bastard can go to hell. I'd rather die than receive any cure he claims to have produced. I'm not going to turn out like..." Addy stops herself. She allows herself to relax a little. That's helping with the pain. She turns herself onto her back and rests a hand on top of her stomach.
"Have you tried making a cure before?" The Man asks, now looking at the wound on his leg. She got him pretty good.
Addy lets out a sigh. "We were told by a friend that he's making blends. A cure but his own kind. He can control people if they have only the slightest bit of blood, saliva, or whatever bodily fluid in them. No one's been able to make a cure, and I know for a damn fact that Lucy isn't the answer."
She tries to sit up, but it's too painful. "Let me help," The Man says. Addy chuckles. "No way in hell."
"I dislocated your hip. It needs to pop back into place before you can move again." She stays silent. "Why would you wanna help me? So that you can get your hunt back? Did you like it when I hunted you down? Found you every time," Addy suggests, feeling dizzy. She's going to need a long ass nap after this day. The Man says nothing. "I'm not joining Zona either. Never going to happen."
The Man moves over to her. "Let me help. I might need you," The Man says. She stabs him in the arm, and he stabs her in the left thigh. They move away from each other again, but this time. He gets up and leaves her sitting there, bleeding out. "Until we meet again, Addison," he calls out as he leaves the store.
When she hears the bell of the front door, she lets out a sigh. She needs to get going. She looks at the knife in her leg and moves a hand down to grip the handle. "Oh fuck, okay. Just—one, two, three, right? Okay, one two—" She doesn't wait and just yanks it out. She lets out a groan, holding the bloody blade in her hand. She looks at it before dropping it to the ground. She sits there panting before remembering what it was like when he was over the top of her, telling her to accept his help. She bites her lip. Her hand moves on its own down to her crotch. It's been a long time since a man has been over the top of her. Her fingers ghost over her wet crotch. Too much sweating today.
They brush before pushing down on the folds. She lets out a soft gasp of pleasure. That fight really got him worked up. She rubs on her clit until she feels more wet down there. Her head falls back a bit as she continues to rub. When she comes back to her senses, she realizes what she's done. 'Have to go find Lucy,' she reminds herself internally. She stops what she is doing and decides to find a change of clothes. Well, underwear.
The Man finds Lucy. He puts her back in his truck again. They drive off. The Man can't help but think of that red gaited viper. 'She's incredible,' he feels as his dick twitches a little. He'll have this knife wound to remember her by.